Jake Campbell is in his fourth season at Air Force as an offensive backfield assistant coach. Campbell returned to his alma mater after four years at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps where he was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2011. He coached running backs his first three seasons.

Campbell has been instrumental in the development of running backs Anthony LaCoste, who led the Falcons in rushing in 2013, and Jacobi Owens, who became just the second sophomore in Air Force history to rush for 1,000-yards in a season. LaCoste rushed for 890 yards and had breakout performances vs. Army and New Mexico with 440 yards combined. He rushed for 263 yards vs. Army while becoming the only player in school history with multiple TD runs of 70-plus yards in the same game. He came back with a 177-yard effort the next week vs. the Lobos. Owens rushed for 1,054 total yards and ranked third in the conference with a 105.4 per-game average. He also set a school record for most yards rushing by a player in his first-career game with 233 yards vs. Nicholls State.

Campbell mentored two offensive MVPs (DJ Lillard, 2010 and Spencer Clark, 2011) at CMS. Lillard was the first running back to make first-team all-SCIAC since 2002 while Clark led the team in all-purpose yards in his senior campaign.

Under Campbell’s direction, the offensive unit made its way into the school’s record books. The 2010 team broke the school’s record for points scored in a season with 268 and tied the school record for touchdowns in a season at 36. The 2010 offense also led the conference in rushing, third down conversions, turnovers, sacks given up, and red zone efficiency, while being second in scoring and time of possession. Peter Kimmey, who took over for the starting role at quarterback midway through the year, rushed for 14 touchdowns in Campbell’s system, one shy of the school record. He led the conference in rushing touchdowns and points per game.

Campbell is a 1996 graduate of the Air Force Academy. His on field accomplishments and highlights as a running back make him one of the best to ever play the position at the Academy. He captained the 1995 team that won one of the Academy’s three Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championships in its history. Campbell’s efforts land him in the top five in several areas of the Falcon record book. He is currently third all-time in yards per carry for a season, fourth all-time for a career. He is also third all-time for yards per reception for a season and career touchdown receptions. He put together back-to-back 1,000 plus all-purpose yards his junior and senior years as a running back, receiver and kick returner. Campbell was later named to the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph’s Air Force all-decade team of the 1990’s.

Prior to joining the CMS football staff, Campbell served 10 years as an officer in the Air Force, reaching the rank of major. Campbell amassed over 1,000 flying hours as a pilot in the T-37, T-1A, and C-9A airframes. He flew the first stateside C-9A aircraft to deploy overseas in support of military operations in Kosovo. Campbell finished his military career as a contract negotiator. He was responsible for leading negotiating teams with Fortune 500 companies in contracts worth well over $400 million to deploy the widely known and frequently used Global Positioning System (GPS).

Campbell spent one season at the Air Force Academy Prep School as an assistant football coach. His responsibilities were coaching the running backs and quarterbacks, as well as the offensive play-calling duties. While at the Prep School, he helped develop numerous eventual Falcon football stars such as Scott McKay, Qualario Brown, Nate Beard and Chris Jessup. Campbell was also a math instructor and taught calculus.

Campbell was also a Nike/SPARQ trainer and the lead running back coach for the Nike Football Training Camps held throughout the country. He has worked with some of the best athletes in the country, many who have gone on to professional and Division I careers.

Originally from North Highlands, a neighborhood in Sacramento, Calif., Campbell was a four-sport starter in high school. He lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track. Campbell was also an assistant coach for the two-time defending conference champion CMS Athena softball team. Campbell has a son, Brayden.